The tariff classification of a Fire Stop Sleeve System from China

N267216 August 24, 2015 CLA-2-73:OT:RR:NC:N1:113 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 7326.90.8588 Mr. Robert J. Leo Meeks, Sheppard, Leo & Pillsbury 570 Lexington Avenue 24th Floor New York, NY 10022 RE: The tariff classification of a Fire Stop Sleeve System from China Dear Mr. Leo: In your original ruling request dated June 29, 2015, on behalf of Unique Fire Stop Products, Inc., you requested a tariff classification ruling. In response to our request for additional information on the Smooth Fire Stop Sleeve System, our office received pictures and answers to our questions in your letter dated July 29, 2015. The product under consideration is identified as the Unique Fire Stop Smooth Fire Stop Sleeve System (“Firestop”) that consists of a steel sleeve with a set screw, sliding lock couplings, large washers, plenum rated bushings, and various documentation and warning labels. You stated in your letter that “The Firestop is imported in unassembled form … It is a complete article (fire prevention wire pass-through device or system) in unassembled or unfinished form. After importation and prior to sale to customers, it will be packaged with intumescent putty. The product is installed by placing the sleeve through a hole in a fire protection-rated wall (usually in an industrial building setting). Next, the sleeve is fixed to the wall using the coupling, washers and bushings. Wires are run through and then the sleeve and wires are packed in with the intumescent putty. This putty expands in the presence of heat (fire) and creates an airtight seal within the sleeve to prevent fire from traveling along the wires through the pipe from one side of the fire protection rated barrier to another.” The classification of merchandise under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) is governed in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI’s). GRI 2(a) states that “Any reference in a heading to an article shall be taken to include a reference to that article incomplete or unfinished, provided that, as entered, the incomplete or unfinished article has the essential character of the complete or finished article. It shall also include a reference to that article complete or finished (or failing to be classified as complete or finished by virtue of this rule), entered unassembled or disassembled.” You indicated that the Unique Fire Stop Smooth Fire Stop Sleeve System will be unassembled at the time of importation, however, the imported product will have the essential character of the complete Fire Stop Sleeve System. The sleeve system provides a conduit for the passage of wires and cables through a firewall which is designed to delay the spread of smoke and flames within a building in the event of a fire. Noting that the imported product is identifiable as a fire-protection system for passing wires through fire protection rated walls and that it is not designed or intended to be used for any other purpose, based on GRI 2(a) our office believes that the various components constitute an unassembled article and therefore, should be classified as if it were a finished article. You proposed classification for the Unique Fire Stop Smooth Fire Stop Sleeve System under HTSUS subheading 7308.90.9590 as parts of structures.  We do not agree.  The Fire Stop product, although used in a structure, is not what we would consider structural in nature.  In our opinion, it is a device used within a structure.  Being used within a structure is not sufficient to qualify a product as a part of a structure within the meaning of heading 7308.  Although the product is used within a structure, it does not contribute to the structural integrity of the building or warehouse where it is intended to be used, and therefore we find this product precluded from classification in subheading 7308.90., HTSUS. In addition, the major component of the product, a steel pipe or tube has been made up into a specific identifiable article and as such is precluded from classification as a pipe or tube in heading 7306, HTSUS, as stated in the Explanatory Notes (ENs) to heading 7306. Therefore, the Fire Stop Sleeve System in question will be classifiable under heading 7326, HTSUS, which provides for other articles of iron or steel. The applicable subheading for the Unique Fire Stop Smooth Fire Stop Sleeve System will be 7326.90.8588, HTSUS, which provides for other articles of iron or steel, other, other…other. The rate of duty will be 2.9 percent ad valorem. Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177). A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Ann Taub at ann.taub@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, Gwenn Klein Kirschner Director National Commodity Specialist Division